


The Ghost of You Keeps Me Awake

by lovetheblazer



Category: Glee
Genre: Advent Calendar, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Fluff, Klaine, M/M, NYADA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 16:38:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5341091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovetheblazer/pseuds/lovetheblazer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Advent Prompt #2: It’s 3 AM and I’m still in the library studying for finals and I’m losing my grip on reality and I think I just saw a ghost. Klaine Alternative Meeting AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ghost of You Keeps Me Awake

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2 of the Advent Challenge I'm doing daily through Christmas Eve. You can send your prompts [here](http://lovetheblazer.tumblr.com/post/134229308195/i-decided-to-give-myself-a-bit-of-a-challenge-this).

Somewhere around the midpoint of finals week, Kurt starts to lose his mind. After years of striving to build his resume, to prepare the perfect audition, and then to impress Carmen Tibideaux after his initial rejection, he's finally made it to NYADA where he's always known he belonged. It should be thrilling, and it mostly  _is_ , the allure of developing his talent and performing for a live audience still as potent as ever. But the one thing Kurt hadn't banked on when applying to NYADA is just how seriously theater students insist on taking absolutely everything. Having to constantly compete for roles meant that his fellow students are  _cutthroat_ . The competitive environment leaves no room for sharing notes or study groups, even for seemingly straightforward classes like History of Theater. It seems unthinkable that a course on a topic as fascinating as theater could manage to bore him to tears on a daily basis, but somehow it does. It doesn't help that it's an 8 AM class; despite Kurt's best efforts to the contrary, he often winds up dozing or distracted by the dreamy guy with the hazel eyes and a fondness for bowties that sits in the front row of their lecture hall.

That's how Kurt finds himself in the NYADA library on campus at almost three in the morning, struggling to fill in the holes in his meager course notes and downing his fourth five hour energy shot in as many hours. His body is buzzing with too much caffeine, but his mind is still exhausted and overstuffed with the vast information he's been cramming into it all night. His head pounds and his eyes feel gritty and dried out from too much reading. With a heavy sigh, Kurt shuts his textbook and stands, raising his arms overhead and leaning into the stretch until his spine pops audibly. “Much better,” he sighs under his breath.

Kurt glances down at the papers strewn about his desk, reluctant to get back to studying. _Maybe a walk will help clear my head_ , he thinks to himself. He quickly scans the mostly deserted library, deciding that it's probably safe to leave his jacket and laptop unattended while he goes for a short stroll. He sets off towards the stacks of ancient books, pulling his cozy sweater tighter around his body to ward off the chill. He's not really sure if he's shaking due to the cold, the overdose of caffeine he's probably close to approaching, or just how creepy it is to be wandering around the dusty old building alone. This late at night, the library starts to take on a rather eerie quality thanks to the dim light that emanates from lamps sitting on each study desk and the echoing and creaking sounds as the wind howls outside with an early December snowstorm.

Kurt idly wanders over to the bookshelves, weaving up and down each row with no real purpose other than avoiding studying for a few more minutes. He can vaguely hear the sound of someone coughing at the far end of the floor, but the noise is muffled by the dusty stacks of books. Kurt looks down the line of endless shelves, barely able to see the amber glow at the far end of the library where a lamp is lit at one of the few occupied desks. He hurries towards the light, as he's starting to feel a bit claustrophobic being surrounded by bookshelves on all sides in near darkness.

Just as Kurt nears the end of the row of books, he hears a noise behind him. He whirls, catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure out of the corner of his eye. He lets out a shriek of terror at the sight and takes off running towards the exit to the stack of books. He scarcely breathes as he flees from the unearthly being that manages to terrify despite the fact that Kurt doesn't even believe in ghosts.  

Kurt is so wrapped up in his fear and the adrenaline coursing through his veins that he winds up running out of the stacks and directly into someone's arms. “Oh shit,” he gasps as he collides headlong with a short guy, nearly knocking him to the floor in his haste to get away from the perceived threat.

“Are you okay?” the guy asks with obvious concern, holding Kurt by the shoulders as he pulls back to look at him closely. “I heard you scream.”

Kurt's eyes widen in shock as he recognizes the guy in question as the same person he's spent hours daydreaming over in class when he should’ve been paying attention to the lectures and taking better notes. “ _God_  yeah, I'm sorry. I thought I saw... there was a...” Kurt trails off, cheeks flaming. Now that he's out of the claustrophobic shelves and into the brighter, open space, he’s starting to feel silly for panicking over what was probably only a shadow, just his overactive imagination playing tricks on him.

“What did you see? It must have been something pretty terrifying to scare you that badly,” the guy comments non-judgmentally, stroking a soothing hand up and down Kurt's arm.

“I was walking down the row of books and I could’ve sworn I saw...  _something_  behind me. I don't know what, exactly – it was probably just a shadow, but for a second I could have sworn it was a ghost or creature or someone following me. It's so stupid, I don't even believe in that kind of stuff usually. I have no idea what came over me,” he rambles, still blushing. Kurt's arms erupt in goosebumps as the cute guy gently squeezes his shoulder, his warm hazel eyes filled with sympathy.

“I don't blame you. This library can get pretty creepy, especially late at night when it's mostly empty,” the boy reassures him. He peers at Kurt more closely with dawning recognition. “Hey, I think I recognize you!” he exclaims. “You're in my History of Theater class with Professor Benson, right?”

“Yep, that's me. I'm Kurt,” he introduces himself, extending his hand to shake.

“I'm Blaine. Good to officially meet you,” Blaine says as he shakes Kurt's hand.

Kurt waits for Blaine to release his hand, but he holds onto it for a few seconds longer than is strictly necessary, making Kurt's cheeks feel warm for a whole new reason.

“You're shaking,” Blaine notes, his eyes impossibly wide and worried. “Are you still that scared? Why don't you come sit down,” he offers, steering them both towards his desk in the far corner.

“Not sure if that's thanks to my near brush with death via library haunting or just from how much caffeine I've had tonight,” Kurt jokes weakly. 

Blaine keeps a guiding hand on his lower back until they reach his desk and then lowers him down into it. Then, he quickly grabs another chair and tugs it over to where Kurt is sitting. “How much coffee are we talking?” he asks once he's seated facing Kurt.

“Uh, I stopped keeping count somewhere around the fifth cup of coffee, but eventually I switched over to those five hour energy shot thingies,” Kurt admits with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Blaine frowns, shaking his head in disapproval. “Those things have so many toxic chemicals in them. I bet that's why you're seeing things that aren't really there,” he admonishes. Blaine reaches over impulsively and takes Kurt's hand, pressing his fingers to the inside of his wrist to feel his pulse. “Geez, your heart is  _racing_! It's a small miracle it hasn't exploded yet, to be honest.”

Kurt's mouth goes dry at the unexpected but very welcome touch. “Are you sure you aren't secretly a med student who wound up in the wrong library instead of a theater major?”

Blaine smiles and strokes his thumb along the back of Kurt's hand. “Or maybe I was just looking for an excuse to hold your hand?”

“Hey, you already saved my life from ghosts or monsters of dubious origin once tonight, so you really don’t need more of an excuse than that to hold my hand,” Kurt teases right back, stomach swooping with a heady combination of nerves and attraction.

“That's good to know,” Blaine says as he laces his fingers through Kurt's. “So, I assume you were cramming for our final tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I was... or trying to, anyways. My notes have some pretty big holes in them, unfortunately,” Kurt sighs. The thought of going back to his desk and trying to focus on the material feels utterly hopeless at this point.

“Well, I would totally offer to share my notes or even recruit you to be my new study buddy, but I suspect what you  _really_  need right now is to be cut off of caffeine and to get some sleep,” Blaine tells him.

“But...” Kurt starts to protest.

“Hey, I'm serious,” Blaine interjects. “When you reach the delirious stage of sleep deprivation where you're hallucinating and your heart is racing so fast it might explode, it's probably time to call it a night.”

Kurt opens his mouth to argue but one glare from Blaine is all it takes to close it again. “I'm going to fail,” he sighs instead.

“No you aren't.”

“Really, I am. I've been sleepwalking my way through the class all semester,” Kurt admits. “Professor Benson's lectures are just so _boring_  and I've had a lot of... distractions.” He feels his heartbeat quicken at the confession, which skates pretty close to the line of outright admitting that he's been too busy ogling Blaine to focus on their course material.

“...says the person who comes to class every day wearing pants so tight they seem practically painted on,” Blaine teases. “You seem to quite enjoy distracting everyone else in class.”

Kurt's jaw drops in shock at the comment. “Wait, you noticed me? Before tonight?” he wonders aloud. The thought had honestly never occurred to him until tonight.

“Of course I did. How could I not?” Blaine replies immediately, as if the answer is utterly transparent.

“Oh,” Kurt breathes. “I... I noticed you, too.”

“You did?” Blaine asks, seeming surprised but pleased. “Wow. And just think, all it took for us to finally do something about it was finals week and you nearly overdosing on caffeine. Well, that and the ghostly haunting of Rogers Library,” he adds as an afterthought.

“Lucky me,” Kurt laughs.

There's a moment of comfortable silence during which Kurt simply gazes at Blaine, feeling his heart pound as he contemplates closing the gap and kissing him. “So...” Blaine finally introduces.

“So?” Kurt echoes.

“I've got a proposition for you, if you're interested?”

“I'm all ears,” Kurt grins.

“Well, as I've already told you, my professional recommendation would be for you to call it a night and try to get some rest. And given your close brush with the death, it wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to let you walk across campus alone at 3 AM. So, how about I walk you home so you can get some sleep, and then we meet at the coffee shop next to the quad around 9 AM to share notes and do a little last minute cramming before our exam at noon?” Blaine suggests shyly. “I'll even buy you breakfast.”

“I'm in, though I really must insist that you let me treat you to coffee and breakfast instead. It's the least I can do to show my appreciation for you saving my life and possibly my academic career as well, depending on how thorough your course notes are,” Kurt responds, squeezing Blaine's hand gratefully and feeling the familiar flood of want.

“It's a date,” Blaine agrees, smiling broadly.

After gathering up his study materials and making a quick pit stop at Kurt's desk so he can do the same, Blaine valiantly offers his arm to Kurt and braves the bitter cold and snow to escort him across campus to his dorm. He even insists on entering Kurt's dorm room first and checking in the closet and under the bed to reassure Kurt that there are no ghosts or monsters lurking out of sight that wish to harm him.

The next morning, they take turns quizzing one another and flirting over bagels and coffee. Blaine winds up being an excellent teacher and an even better motivator, in the end. Blaine gets a B+ on the History of Theater exam; Kurt winds up getting a B- and Blaine's number.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you'd like to share the fic on Tumblr, you can do so by reblogging the original post which can be found [here](http://lovetheblazer.tumblr.com/post/134442497155/the-ghost-of-you-keeps-me-awake). And as always, feedback is very much welcomed, especially this month while I'm trying to stay motivated to write, edit, and publish a fic a day :)


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